Sticking With You
by wingsoverthewater
Summary: Zach always had a habit of shutting people out, even Cammie. But Cammie wasn't about to let that stand in her way. Song-fic. C/Z. My first Gallagher Girls fic! R&R.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Summary: Zach always had a habit of shutting people out, even Cammie. But Cammie wasn't about to let that stand in her way. Song-fic. C/Z

Hello, I'm Wingsoverthewater. This is my first Gallagher Girls fic! I've also written for Maximum Ride and RENT. I've been reading GG fics for a while, but never really got around to writing one, until I heard this song. And I was like, I need to write a Cammie/Zach about this.The song is Sticking With You by Addison Road, a Christian alternative/pop band. Addison Road's great- I love them, which is kinda funny since I'm atheist. Check 'em out.

This was kind of hard to write, so I'm very sorry if Zach's OOC. It's hard to make him emotional, since Ally Carter writes him so taciturn.

Okay, this is my alternate universe...Cammie and her friends are in junior year. The Blackthorne Boys are back at Gallagher Academy (for another exchange?). Cammie and Zach are together, as are Liz and Jonas, and Bex and Grant. Cammie and Zach, and Bex and Grant are pretty far into their relationships. The background stories for all that is under construction. That's about all you need to know.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gallagher Girls, or Addison Road. The only thing that I do own is Lynn Goode. She's mine.

Sticking With You

[cammie pov]

Wind whooshed through the dark, rustling the branches of the trees that stood outside the windows of the Gallagher Academy. I listened to the familiar whistle of wind through wood, and continued my trek around the school. It was 11:30 PM on a Saturday night. Most of the other juniors were in Tina, Anna, Kim, and Mick's dorm room, having a chick flick marathon. Don't get me wrong, I love chick flicks. But for some reason, I didn't want to stay and listen to Eva and Courtney screaming/arguing about _Mean Girls_ vs. _RENT_ vs. _Music and Lyrics_. (A/N: Three of my fave chick flicks! If RENT can be counted as a chick flick, which my friends and I agree it can be). Chick flicks are okay, but those endings are so cheesy.

But I admit, I wouldn't have minded pulling a crazy chick flick stunt, because those always end up with the guy and the girl together. And I wanted to see my boyfriend, Zach. I was kinda tired, and having one of those days where you want to put on some comfy clothes, and get alone time and hugs and kisses from your boyfriend. However, the likelihood of my sneaking into the boys' dorms without getting caught was close to none. So I was forced to wander around the school, and get just the alone part of the previous list of wants.

_But then again, _I thought,_ Zach was so distant today. _

[flashback]

_I carried my dinner tray over to the circular table where Zach, Bex, Grant, Liz, Jonas, and Macey sat, eating. Setting my tray on the table, I poked my head between Bex and Zach. "Scooch on over, Bex, Zach," I said, wrapping my now-free-of-that-dinner-tray arms around Zach and pecking him on the cheek._

_They did, and I slid into the freed seat. As I looked around the table, I observed two different conversations. Bex, Grant, and Macey were discussing Tina's new ridiculous rumor. Liz and Jonas were talking about the new Congrave-Commins Cipher. _

_I shrugged. "I was going to explore and look for more secret passages tonight," I announced to the table. "You guys wanna come?"_

_Bex shook her head. "Cam, Tina's movie marathon."_

_Grant and Jonas turned down the offer too, and naturally Liz and Macey didn't want anything to do with grimy, spider-infested secret passages. _

_"You guys are lame. How about you, Zach? Don't you want to find a passage between our dorms or something?" I teased._

_There was no response. I turned to Zach. He was sitting listlessly, his head resting on one hand, as he picked at his untouched food with one limp hand. Training in reading body language, and the fact that I have a brain, told me that something was wrong. Zachary Goode has many legends- proud, flirty, comedic, thoughtful- but "exhausted and depressed" is not one of them. _

_I nudged him with my shoulder. "What's wrong, Zach?" If Zach wasn't eating, something was screwed up._

_He jumped, coming back to reality. "What?"_

_I rolled my eyes. "You're so out of it...Tonight. You. Me. Finding secret passages. Yes or no?"_

_Zach stood up, pushing his tray away. "Uh, sorry, Cam. I have...Advanced Organic Chemistry homework to do. I'm gonna go start that...bye." At that, he got up, turned on his heel, and vanished, leaving six of his very confused friends and a full plate of dinner behind him. _

_Liz was first to speak. "Zach doesn't _take_ Advanced Organic Chemistry."_

[end flashback]

I sighed. Something was up, and Zach wouldn't tell me. It felt like there was a lot he wasn't telling me, a lot I didn't know. I could see that the legend he had up was a fake, but I couldn't see what was on the inside.

I closed my eyes and let my feet take me where they wanted to go. The pounding of my footsteps and their hollow, sharp echo against the stone walls, was somber and melancholy yet comforting in its constance.

Opening my eyes, I found myself in front of the wall at the foot of the stairs. This was one of my favorite passages- it snaked underneath the stairs (you could even hear people's footsteps above your head) and through the walls. Eventually you could open a trapdoor and wind up on the roof. If you hang your feet over the edge of the roof, anyone in the COW classroom can see your feet, though.

I touch my hands to the wood moldings in the wall, a carving of a scene with Aphrodite and Hermes. As soon as I pressed the apple Aphrodite carried and turned Hermes' caduceus, a small portion of the wall rolled back on itself, and I entered the passage.

I pulled a flashlight out of my pocket to light my way. My footsteps echoed in the small narrow hallway-like passage. I climbed the stairs, watching the light bounce off corners and wishing I could light my own way so easily.

Clambering out onto the roof, I walked quietly across the roof over to a chimney. Then I knelt down and tucked myself against the chimney and looked at the stars. The wind ruffled my hair, and I sighed. For one moment, Zach was gone from my mind as I reveled in the fresh air, the blanket of the night, and the light of the stars.

Then I heard a scuffling sound to the left. I stood, scared. Who the hell would be on the roof of the Gallagher Academy, at midnight?

I crept over to where the sound was coming from, rolling my weight from my heels across the blades of my feet to silence my steps. I crept around a satellite that I know was receiving data from the NSA, and saw a figure sitting on the edge of the roof. The broad-shouldered, Roman-nosed profile of a boy I knew all too well.

I tiptoed over to the person. "Zach?"

Zach didn't show any sign that he'd heard me. He just sat there, feet hanging off the roof.

I sat down next to him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "Zach?" I repeated.

Then I noticed the damp trails that shone on his cheeks. Zach was crying.

He turned away. "Nothing, Gallagher Girl. I'm just out here. Not sending national security secrets or anything. Just out."

I wiped a tear off his face with my finger. "You're crying. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Right then, Zach wasn't his proud, confident legend. Sitting on the roof, he looked exhausted, tender and raw.

I took Zach by the shoulders and turned him to face me. "Zach. You are lying to my face. Stop."

_Come on, it's me you're talking to_

_There's something going on inside of you_

_  
_Zach shrugged, turning away.

I gritted my teeth. "You lied at dinner; you don't take advanced organic chemistry. What's wrong with you? It has to be something." I rested my hand on his knee. Why don't boys understand this? "Just tell me what's wrong. It doesn't have to do with me, does it?" Waaait. Was he, like, breaking up with me? Was that why he was so distant?

I wished Macey was there.

_Don't have to say it, but I wish you would_

_  
Cause it would be much easier_

Zach shook his head. "Nothing to do with you, Cam. It's a long story."

"I have time."

"It's personal." Zach looked away. A baby could have told you that this wasn't the whole truth.

I touched Zach's shoulder. "Just tell me."

_  
You always hide behind yourself_

_  
You walk a lonely road with no one's help_

Zach shrugged my hand off his shoulder. "Don't let me burden you. Go back to bed. I'll be back in a bit."

Ugh. That was so Zach! He was being irritatingly sensitive- bottling himself up because he doesn't want to bother me? "No, seriously. I'm not burdened. Tell me!"

_  
I hate to break the news_

_  
You're headed for a fall_

_And if I have to jump, then I'll jump, _

_and I won't look down_

_You can cry, you can fight, we can scream and shout  
_

Zach stood up, radiating frustration and hurt. "Cam. Just go back inside. I don't want to bother you. Just leave me be!" he growled.

I stepped back. When Zach got angry, he needed space, I knew. I waited a few seconds to let him cool off.

His face softened, and he looked sad. "I'm sorry, Cammie. I shouldn't have yelled at you. That was stupid. It's just...there's a lot going on, and I'm kind of stressed. I don't want to bother you with my whining. You don't need that."

_I'll push and pull_

_  
Until your walls come down_

I stepped forwards, right up to Zach. He wrapped his arms around me, and we settled ourselves back on the roof. Zach finally seemed to understand that I wasn't moving, I wasn't leaving him alone, until I found out what was wrong with him.

_  
And you understand I'm gonna be around_

_  
I'm sticking with you  
_

I looked up at Zach. "I'm sticking with you," I told him. "Talk. What's up?"

He nuzzled my hair. "Family stuff."

"No, seriously. Specify."

_  
Even if you try and shut me out_

_I'm staying here cause that's what love's about_

Zach sighed. He relaxed, and I could feel that he wasn't really holding me now. More of clinging, like I was an anchor in a rough sea.

"It's my sister. She's a spy too, and she's out on a mission, and there's been no word from her for almost three weeks," Zach said, his face crumpling.

I was kind of surprised. "You have a sister?"

He nodded. "She's twenty-one. Her name's Lynn." He sighed.

_  
I might let you down, but I won't let you go_

_So lean into me, I want to know_

_Everything about the fear you hold inside_

I hug Zach gently. "She'll be fine, Zach. She's OK. If Lynn taught you everything, she has to be good."

He smiled wanly. "It's just...you know my parents are both dead."

I did. That was something he told me on the first date. "She's your only family left," I murmured, realizing how awful I'd feel if I was all alone.

Zach nodded. He sighed, and in that sigh, I could hear everything that Zach was too embarrassed to say. He was worried about his sister. She was the one who had patched up his scraped knees when he was a kid, taught him how to write cursive and break the Diamond Series NSA codes. She had been the one who taught him how to get a girl, how to climb walls and pick locks and do all the best judo moves. And Zach missed her.

Right now, it was easier than ever to see the real Zachary Goode, without legend. If you stripped away the cockiness, the bravado, the legends, the smirk...on the inside, he was a smart, sweet, caring, guy who loved his sister, the only family he had left.

_  
Cause you and I are better than just one_

I hugged Zach, trying to channel some of my strength into him, trying to bring back the old Zach- funny, spunky, fiery, brave, confident Zach. " It'll be OK, Zach. I'll talk to my mom. She can find your sister."

He smiled for the first time today, and like always, I couldn't help but smile back. Zach brushed a lock of my hair away from my face, and said, "Cam?", looking slightly bashful.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

I was confused. "For what?"

"Letting me whine." Zach smirked. He was feeling better, I could tell.

I folded my arms. He still didn't get it, did he. "Zach."

"What?"

"There's really no need to thank me...that's what this is about. That's what love is. Talking to each other. Sharing secrets. You don't need to keep stuff from me. I don't think you're a wimp or anything because you have feelings." I told Zach, staring into his sea-green eyes. "It's okay not to have that wall up 24/7. 'Cause I've got your back, and you've got mine. I'm sticking with you."

_If that's what it means to love you_

_  
If that's what it means to have your back_

_  
If that's what it takes to show you_

_  
Then I'm in, _

_I'm in_

And maybe it was the stress of the day, maybe it was because I was tired, or maybe truth serum, that made me admit, "And...I love you even more now that I see who you really are. A great, sweet, brave guy who loves his family and isn't afraid to admit it." Wow, I sounded like a romance novel.  
Zach didn't seem to mind. He held me tighter for one second, and then stood up. "Thanks, Cam...We gotta get back in."

I turned towards the trapdoor in the roof. But Zach called me before I could get there. "Gallagher Girl. Wait."

When I turned towards the sound of his voice, he kissed me. Softly, an echo of the unraveling that had just occurred.

When we pulled away, Zach smiled gently at me. "And I've got your back, Cammie. I'm sticking with you too."

We tiptoed through the passages, hand in hand. As I bade farewell to Zach and turned the corner to my dorm, I reminisced on the evening. I had finally found the real Zach Goode, not another legend. And unalike his legends, this side of Zach would always be there, sticking with me.

_  
And if I have to jump, then I'll jump_

_  
And I won't look down_

_  
You can cry, you can fight, we can scream and shout_

_  
I'll push and pull_

_Until your walls come down_

_  
And you understand I'm gonna be around_

_  
Cuz I'm sticking with you._


	2. AN

Hello faithful readers! *sigh* Bad news. For some very personal reasons, I am changing my pen name. If you want to know the story, PM me. I'm now Broken-once-again. Thanks.


	3. Another AN

Another A/N. I have decided that instead of creating security like hell, I'll just create a new account. If you are one of my beloved readers, PM me for my new pen name. Thank you.


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